Author: Victor Olayiwola

African Development Bank (AfDB) President Sidi Ould Tah has called on African governments, financial institutions, and development partners to significantly scale up efforts to attract private capital as the continent faces an increasingly urgent development and infrastructure financing gap. He made the appeal during the opening ceremony of the 2025 Africa Investment Forum (AIF) in Rabat, which commenced on 26 November with the theme, “Bridging the Gap: Mobilising Private Capital to Unlock Africa’s Full Potential.” The AfDB President outlined four major strategic priorities that will guide the Bank’s work going forward, stressing the need for decisive action and stronger collaboration…

Vice President Kashim Shettima has returned to Abuja following his diplomatic engagement in Luanda, Angola, where he stood in for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the 7th African Union–European Union (AU–EU) Summit. His arrival marks the conclusion of an important international mission that began in South Africa, where he also represented President Tinubu at the 2025 G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg. During the AU–EU Summit in Luanda, Vice President Shettima delivered President Tinubu’s address to African and European leaders, reiterating Nigeria’s position that Africa must secure permanent, veto-wielding seats on the United Nations Security Council. The President’s message emphasized that…

Kabirou Zakari Oumarou, Former Director General of Hydrocarbons at Niger’s Ministry of Energy, has joined the upcoming MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2025 conference and exhibition – taking place in Dakar from December 8-10 – as a speaker. Oumarou is expected to engage with global investors and public- and private-sector stakeholders from across the MSGBC region and Africa, showcasing emerging opportunities within Niger’s hydrocarbons sector. Explore opportunities, foster partnerships and stay at the forefront of the MSGBC region’s oil, gas and power sector. Visit www.MSGBCOilGasAndPower.com to secure your participation at the MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2025 conference. To sponsor or participate…

Junior Achievement (JA) Africa (https://JA-Africa.org) and the Project Management Institute Educational Foundation (PMIEF) announce a partnership to equip African youth with over 240,000 project management learning experiences that turn ideas into enterprises and ambitions into action. The initiative, titled “Elevating Project Management in Youth Ecosystems– Phase II,” will be implemented from 2025 to 2028. The primary objective is empowering young Africans and fostering their personal and professional growth, equipping them with project management and other essential skills, and supporting them to create a lasting impact on their lives and communities. The initiative will impact young Africans from Côte d’Ivoire, Eswatini, Ghana,…

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org), meeting in Abidjan, approved a $500 million loan to the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to finance the second phase of the Economic Governance and Energy Transition Support Programme. The policy-based operation is for fiscal years 2024 and 2025. “The second phase of the programme aims to stimulate inclusive growth by accelerating structural reforms in the energy sector, while supporting progressive reforms of fiscal policy to boost non-oil revenues and expand fiscal space. The new phase will consolidate and build on the achievements of the first phase,”…

A cyberattack on payroll and HR systems can expose personal employee details and financial business information: a treasure trove for criminals and can bring companies to their knees through regulatory fines, reputational damage, and derailing operations. “Criminals are targeting payroll and HR staff. They may trick or force them with personal info or make them think they’re aiding the CEO. Ransomware attacks can encrypt payroll systems. Treating payroll and HR cybersecurity as optional is like leaving your front door wide open in a dangerous neighbourhood,” says Sandra Crous, Managing Director at Deel Local Payroll, powered by PaySpace. Securing these high-value…

The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund approved additional financing of $28 million for Benin to continue the Economic Governance and Private Sector Development Support Programme (PAGE-DSP) on 24 November 2025. Following phases I and II, which were successfully implemented in 2023 and 2024, respectively, the objective of this financial support is to increase the contribution made by Benin’s private sector to the economy. Specifically, it aims to improve the business climate, strengthen Special Economic Zones, support the agro-industrial sector and enhance climate resilience. “This additional funding concludes the exemplary implementation of the first two phases of the…

New independent data from Chainalysis and TRM Labs shows that illicit crypto activity on centralised exchanges has dropped to historic lows, signalling a new era of maturity for the industry. As of June 2025, the seven largest exchanges recorded just 0.018–0.023% of total activity linked to illicit addresses — a sharp decline from levels seen two years ago. Binance Leads at Global Scale Both analytics firms found that Binance, despite processing volumes comparable to the next six exchanges combined, consistently maintains the lowest exposure to illicit funds. Chainalysis: Only 0.007% of Binance’s June 2025 volume was linked to illicit activity — 2.5x lower than the average of other…

African policymakers, financiers, and energy executives issued a unified call at the G20 Africa Energy Investment Forum in Johannesburg – organized by the African Energy Chamber – to advance infrastructure-led development, diversified energy systems and accelerated investment flows. The series of announcements comes ahead of the Invest in African Energies (IAE) Summit in Paris – taking place from April 22-23, 2026 – where many of the same stakeholders and more are expected to convert these messages into concrete deals and partnerships. Across multiple sessions, speakers emphasized that Africa’s energy transition cannot proceed without large-scale financing, received industrial capacity and reliable…

NBA Africa (www.NBA.com) today announced the 10 startup companies from five African countries that have been selected as finalists as part of the second edition of NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator (https://apo-opa.co/48kJsem), which the league launched last year to support the continent’s technology ecosystem and the next generation of African entrepreneurs.  The 10 finalists will pitch their products to a panel of international industry leaders at a Demo Day at Carnegie Mellon University Africa (CMU-Africa) in Kigali, Rwanda, on Friday, Dec. 5. NBA Africa also announced that CMU-Africa has joined as an Official Partner of the program, which is open to early-stage…